Operating mechanism for station-indicators



2 Shgets-Sheet 1,

(No Model.)

W. T. SNEDDEN.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR STATION INDIUATORS. No. 891,653.

Patented Oct. 23, 1888.

.lwenior i 7iz'Zii'amlWnem N. PETERS, Phololjthngrapher. Washington, 0 c.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.,

(No Model.)

W. T. SNEDDEN.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR STATION INDICATORS.

Patented Oct. 23

ml l u Inc I A w M62620 A WZZZZQZZJZVWMIZ N, PETERS. Photo-Lithographer, Wnhlnglon. ELC.

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WILLIAM 'I. SNEDDEN, OF WYANDO'ITE, KANSAS.

@PERATiNG MECHANISM FGR STATION lNDICATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 391,653, dated October 23, .1888.

Application filed August 27, 1888.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM T. SNEDDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vyandotte, in the county of \Vyandotte and State of Kansas, have invented new and use ful Improvements in Operating Mechanism for Station-Indicators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to station-indicators, and the purpose thereof is to provide a simple automatic mechanism deriving operation from the axle of the car and so organized that, while the prime motor shall have constant movement during the time the car is in motion,the elements by which that movement is communicated to the indicating mechanism shall receive actuation only at the moment when the indication is effected. It is my purpose, also, to provide means whereby the lever initiating the operation of theindicating mechanism may be carried upon a support on the car-axle and preserved in vertical position,or substantially so, without material disturbance from the vertical movement of the car-body.

The invention consists in the novel features of construction and new combinations of parts, hereinafter fully described, and then specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, taken lengthwise of the car, the body of the latter being partly shown by dotted lines, with the indicator-casing and mechanism therein c011- t-ained. Fig 2 isa vertical section taken in the axial line of the shaft operating the indicator-shaft. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section of Fig. 2 in the line a: m. Fig. 4 is a detail View of the cam-lever shown in Fig. 3 detached. Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation of the box carried by the car-axle, thelever fulcrumed on said box, and the devices for preserving the vertical position of said lever. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of the carrier-box and its bearing-block detached.

In the said drawings,the reference-numeral 1 designates the body of the car,of any desired construction, the same being carried by wheels 2 in the usual manner. Upon the axles 3 of the said car is mounted a box, 4, (shown in Fig. 6,) consisting of a metallic block having a deep cavity, 5,which receives the axle,upon

Serial No, 283,588. (No model.)

which rests a bearing-block,6,the top of which lies flush with flanges 7, projecting from the sides of the box. A plate, 8, is laid upon the top of the latter,covering the block 6 and holding the same in place. The plate is fastened upon the box by bolts 9, passing through the side flanges, 7, said plate being extended beneath the car to a bracket,12, to which its end is connected bya link,13. Upon each side of the box at the top are formed laterally-extend ing lugs 14, through which pass rods 15, the lower ends of which are pivotall y connected to lugs 16 upon an actuating-lever, 17, which is fulcrumed upon a pintle, 18, upon the box 4. Springs 18 are coiled on these rods and bear with equal tension against the lugs 14 above and seats formed on the lower portion of the rods 15, as shown in Fig. 5. This lever is provided with a curved slot, within which the car-axle 3 lies, and from its pivotal point depends an arm carrying a friction-roll, 19, which lies a little above the roadway. From that portion of said lever which is arched above the axle rises 21. point, 2(),'to which is pivoted a connectingbar, 21.

Upon the axle 3 is a collar, 22, rigid on the axle and extending through the curved slot in the lexer 17 until it abuts against the face of the box 4, while upon the opposite side of the said box is a sprocket, 23, made in two parts and rigidly clipped on the axle, by which the box is prevented from shifting its position longitudinally thereupon.

In suitable drop-bearings, 24, beneath the end of the car is journaled a shaft, 25, upon which is mounted a cup-shaped frictioi'rplate, 26, pinned to or otherwise rigidly connected with said shaft. At a short distance from this friction-plate is another and similar plate, 27, splined on the shaft in such manner thatwhile turning therewith it may have a limited longitudinal movement thereon. Between these friction-plates is arranged a cylindrical shell or drum, 28, loose upon the shaft 25, and carryin g a central sprocket, 29, geared by achain, 30,with thesprocket 23 on the car-axle. Upon the outer face of the friction'plate 27 is formed a circular flange, 31, in which is formed a notch or pocket, 32.

Fulcrumed upon the prolonged hub 33 of the frictionplate 27 is a lever, 34, having upon its upper end, which rises above the shaft 25, a double cam, 35, with a notch, 36, between said cams. In the notch 36lies a friction'roll, 37, carried by one arm of a bell-crank lever, 38, fulcrumed on a prop-bracket, 39, said friction-roll 37 being of such length that its end also projects over the flange 31 on the frictionplate 27 and rests in the notch 32. The other end of the bell-crank lever 38 is forked and straddles a collar, 40, loose on the shaft, between which and the hub of the friction-plate 27 is a strong spring, 41, coiled on the shaft and resting at one end against the collar 40 and at the other against a loose collar, 42. The lower end of the lever 34 is pivotally connected to the end of the connecting-rod 21.

Upon the end of the shaft 25 is mounted a miter-gear, 43, meshing with a similar gear, 44, on a vertical shaft, 45, which extends upward in the interior of the car to the indicatorcasing, as shown in Fig. 1.

The friction-plates 26 and 27 are so formed that while they receive the ends of the drum 28 the latter may revolve freely upon the shaft 25 without communicating motion to the latter until the plate 27 is thrown toward the plate 26,whereupon the drum will be clutched by said plates, and its rotation will be communicated through them to the shaft.

The parts being organized in the manner set forth, the operation is as follows: At or near each station or point to be shown by the indicator is arranged an obstruction-bar, 46, Fig. 1, so located that the passage of the car will bring the friction-roll19 on the lever17 against said bar, throwing the lever in one direction or the other and actuating one of the cams 35, whereby the friction'roll 37 on the arm of the bell-crank lever 38 is raised out of the pocket 32 in the flange 31. formed on the friction-plate 27. This action throws the forked end of the bell-crank toward the lever 34, thereby compressing the spring 41 and driving the frictionplate 27 against the drum 28, which is instantly clutched by said plate and its fellow plate 26. Revolution being instantly imparted to the shaft 25 by these means,the release of the lever 17 by the obstruction-bar permits the roll 37 on the bell-crank 38 to drop on the circular flange 31, whereon it rides until the notch 32 again arrives beneath it, whereupon it drops into said notch, releasing the clutch of the friction-plates upon the drum 28 and arresting the revolution of the shaft 25.-

The indicating mechanism preferred consists of a card-cylinder upon which the cards are pivotally mounted, arranged Within a casing having openings through which the cards are visible as they are successively carried over the cylinder and fall against the casing in position to be read by the passengers. This mechanism is well known and forms no part of my present invention, and requires therefore no specific description. I revolve the card-cylinder by a ratchet, 47, on its shaft actuated by a pawl, 48, carried bya pitman, 49, rcciprocated by a crank, 50, on the end of the indicatorshaft. The springs 18 serve to center the lever 17 and preserve it'in substantially vertical position, restoring it after each engagement with an obstruction-bar. The sprocket 23 on the axle is of small size compared with the sprocket 29 on the drum 28, whereby a reduced motion is communicated to the latter.

In order that the axle may be introduced within the curved slot or channel in the lever 17 the latter is made in two parts, as shown in Fig. l, the portion arched above the axle being detachable.

To resist the lateral thrust upon that arm of the bell-crank lever 38 which carries the friction-roll 37, a bracket, 38, is dropped from the bottom of the car, said bracket having aforked end, as shown in Fig. 3, within which the le ver-arm moves and by.which it is firmly supplied.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. In a station-indicator, the combination, with an indicator-shaft, of a shaft geared thereto, a sprocket running loosely on said shaft and driven by a sprocket on the car-axle, friction-plates arranged upon opposite sides of the said sprocket, one of which is splined upon the shaft, a lever carried by the car-axle and operated by an obstructionbar on the track, a cam-lever fulcrumed on the shaft of the sprocket and connected with the lever on the axle, and a bell-crank lever connected by one arm to a sliding collar on the shaft and carrying a roll on the other arm, which drops into a notch in the cam-lever and also into a pocket in a circular flange on one of the friction-plates, a spring being coiled on the shaft between the latter and the sliding collar, substantially as described.

2. In a station-indicator, the combination, with a box loosely surrounding the car-axle, of a bearing-block resting on said axle, a plate having one end bolted to the top of the latter and connected at the other end to a link pivotally mounted on a bracket on the car, a lever fulcrumed on a pintle on the box and having a curved channel or slot in which the car-axle lies, rods pivotally connected to lugs on the box, springs coiled on said rods between the lugs, a cam-lever on a separate shaft connected to the lever on the axle, and mechanism, substantially as described, for operating said shaft and communicating the operation to the indicator, substantially as described.

3. In a station-indicator, the combination, with a box carried by the car-axle, of a springcentered lever fulcrumed on said box, a camlever fulcrumed on a separate shaft and connected with said lever, a sprocket carried by a drum loose on said shaft and driven continuously by a sprocket on the car-axle, frictionplates abutting against the ends of said drum, one of said plates being splined to the shaft, a bell-crank lever fulcrumed above the shaft and carrying on one arm a friction-roll lying between the cams-of the cam-lever and in a pocket formed in a circular flange on one of the friction-plates, a collar loose on the shaft and connected to a fork on the other arm of said bell-crank, a spring coiled on the shaft between said collar and the splined friction-plate, and an indicator-shaft geared to the separate shaft, substantially as described.

4. In a station-indicator, the combination, with a shaft mounted in bearings beneath the car, of a drum loose thereon and carrying a sprocket driven continuously by a sprocket on the car-axle, friction plates or clutches turning with the shaft, one of which is splined thereon and is provided with a circular flange having a notch or pocket, a lever fulcrumed on the hub of said friction plate or clutch and having two oppositely-acting cams with a notch between, a lever one end of which rests in said notch and in the pocket in the flange of the friction-clutch, and asliding collar on the shaft actuated by the other end of said lever, the former lever having a roll acted on by an bbstruction-bar on the track, the shaft being geared to a vertical indicator-shaft, substantially as described.

5. In a station-indicator, the combination, with a shaft mounted beneath the car, of a drum loose thereon and driven by a sprocket on the car-axle, friction plates or clutches turning with the shaft, one of which is splined thereon and provided with a circular flange having a sprocket or notch, a lever fulcrumed on the shaft adjacent to said flange and provided with oppositely-acting cams having a notch or depression between, a bell-crank lever having on onearm a friction-roll resting in the notch between said cams and also in the notch in the flange of the clutch, a sliding collar connected to a fork in the other arm of said lever, a spring coiled on the shaft between said collar and the cam-lever and clutch, a. bracket having a fork within which the arm of the bellcrank moves, a springcentered lever carried by a box on the axle, a plate fastened at one end upon said box and linked at the other end to a bracket on the car, a rod connecting the 

